Allentown, PA – Behind Jonah Tong's near no-hit bid and offensive dominance, the Syracuse Mets swept a doubleheader against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Saturday at Coca-Cola Park, shutting out Lehigh Valley, 6-0, in the opener before rallying for an 8-7 victory in the nightcap.
Syracuse broke through in the third inning of game one. Zack Short launched a solo home run to left field before D'Andre Smith followed with a solo shot of his own, giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. Later in the inning, MJ Melendez hit a two-run homer to left-center field, scoring Mark Vientos and extending Syracuse's advantage to 4-0.
The Mets added another run in the fourth. Nick Lorusso and Hayden Senger singled to begin the inning before D'Andre Smith grounded into a force out that allowed Lorusso to score, making it 5-0.
Mark Vientos capped the scoring in the seventh with a solo home run to center field, his second homer of the game, giving Syracuse a 6-0 lead.
Jonah Tong was two strikes away from a no-hitter. Tong posted a complete game one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts.
The Mets fell behind early in the nightcap, as Lehigh Valley scored four runs in the bottom of the first. A passed ball allowed Otto Kemp to score before Colby Thomas delivered a two-run double. Payton Henry followed with an RBI single to give the IronPigs a 4-0 lead.
Syracuse responded with five runs in the second. D'Andre Smith drove in Nick Lorusso with a single before Zack Short doubled home Shawn Ross and Smith to cut the deficit to 4-3. Nick Morabito then launched a two-run homer to left field, his 13th of the season, putting the Mets ahead 5-4.
The Mets added another run in the third. MJ Melendez doubled before D'Andre Smith reached on a single and a throwing error, allowing Melendez to score and extending Syracuse's lead to 6-4.
Lehigh Valley regained the lead with three runs in the fourth. Robert Moore tripled before scoring on Kameron Misner's two-run single. Misner later scored on a wild pitch, putting the IronPigs ahead 7-6.
Syracuse tied the game in the sixth. Zack Short walked and moved to third on Nick Morabito's sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch before scoring when Ronny Mauricio grounded out, making it 7-7.
Billy Amick put the Mets back in front in the seventh when he launched a solo home run to right-center field, his fourth of the season, giving Syracuse an 8-7 lead.
Syracuse's pitching staff protected the one-run advantage in the bottom of the seventh to complete the sweep. Dan Hammer got the start and only recorded one out in the first and allowed four runs. Dylan Ross ended the inning by recording the final two outs. Matt Turner tossed a scoreless second inning. Jack Weisenburger followed in bulk, worked two innings and allowed three runs. Ofreidy Gomez and Brian Metoyer did not allow a run in the final three innings, and Metoyer earned his first Triple-A save with two strikeouts.
Vientos homered in the opener and finished with three hits, while Short, Smith and Melendez also homered. In the nightcap, Morabito finished with a two-run homer, Short drove in two runs with his double, and Amick's seventh-inning solo shot proved to be the game-winning hit.
The Mets and IronPigs wrap up their series Sunday at Coca-Cola Park. First pitch is slated for 1:15 p.m.